Hardware Engineer

Founding hardware engineer wanted for a pre-seed, a16z Speedrun-backed startup in San Francisco.

This role supports US government and defense work and may require US person status under export control regulations. It’s a full-time role, fully in office at our SF hardware lab, and we’re hiring to start immediately. Candidates must be available to work full-time now, so we’re unable to consider anyone still completing a degree or available only part-time.

What we do

We build rugged predictive-maintenance sensors for ships. They collect vibration and thermal data in engine rooms, and ML predicts failures before they happen. Sensors are already deployed on ferries, paid pilots are signed in Seattle, Florida and New York, and we have a government contract. The long-term goal is autonomous surface vessels.

What you’ll own

• The full hardware lifecycle: schematic capture, PCB design, assembly, soldering and bench testing
• Sensor integration (accelerometers, IMUs, thermal cameras)
• Firmware on ESP32 and Raspberry Pi
• Improving sensors based on real operator feedback
• Helping shape the product as we move toward autonomous vessels

What we’re looking for

• Hands-on PCB design and schematic experience
• Embedded and firmware skills
• Projects you’ve built yourself, end to end
• Bonus: IoT, robotics, marine, automotive or other harsh-environment hardware

This role is early career friendly, at 0 to 2 years of experience but note also that this is a full-time, onsite role in San Francisco starting immediately. Candidates must be available to work full-time now, so we’re unable to consider anyone still completing a degree or available only part-time.

What you get

• $150k to $170k base
• 1 to 1.5% equity
• A real path to CPO, with 5 to 10% equity, after 6 to 7 months for the right person
• A fast-paced, all-in environment with intense hours, built for people who want to go deep